Rivals
by kisshuismylife
Summary: Emiko is too weak to teleport, so when Pikachu calls for help, Kisshu answers the call.
1. Another Call for Help

**Rivals Chapter 1:**

**Another Call**

After the incident with Giovanni, and after Ash left Kisshu's dimension, life started to go back to normal- except for one thing. Emiko was recovering slower than Pai had predicted. A week after Pikachu's Thunderbolt saved her, she still couldn't teleport, and she also got tired out easily.

Kisshu and the others were really worried about her. This worry only increased when Emiko received a call from Pikachu again.

"I have to go, I promised!" Emiko said.

"But you can't even teleport! How are you going to be any use?" Kisshu asked.

"If they're in trouble, I have to find some way of helping them," Emiko said.

Kisshu sighed, and said, "I'll go instead of you."

"Really?" Emiko asked. "You'd do that?"

"Hai," Kisshu said. "Can you lend me your power to understand Pokémon, though?"

Emiko smiled and said, "Sure." She placed a finger on Kisshu's forehead, and closed her eyes. Kisshu began to glow green, and Emiko finally said, "You should be all set. I'll tell the others where you've gone."

"Thanks," Kisshu said. He kissed Emiko swiftly, and teleported off.

Kisshu landed in a clearing, and found Ash, May, Max and Brock looking glum. "What happened?" he asked.

The group looked up, startled. "Kisshu?" Ash asked. "Where's Emiko?"

"She can't teleport yet," Kisshu said. "She's not recovering as fast as we thought, so I told her I'd come instead."

"Thanks," Ash said.

"What happened?" Kisshu asked again. "You guys don't look very happy."

"Team Rocket got Pikachu again," May explained. "But their balloon got blown away in yesterday's storm, and we can't figure out where they are."

"I'll see what I can find out," Kisshu said. He closed his eyes, and focused on Pikachu. After a minute, he said, "It looks like Pikachu's on some island with Team Rocket. Their balloon is in shreds, so I don't think that they can get off the island. I can teleport there, but I can only teleport two of you. Who's going?"

"I'm going," Ash said.

"Me too," said Brock. "May, Max, stay put."

May and Max sighed, but nodded. Kisshu grabbed Ash and Brock and teleported to the island.

They landed under a large tree, and looked up. Team Rocket was tangled in the ropes from the balloon, but Pikachu was nowhere to be seen. "Oi, what'd you creeps do with Pikachu?" Kisshu called up to them.

"Pikachu got loose and ran off after zapping us again!" Jessie said. "Can you get us down?"

"Why on Earth would I want to do that?" Kisshu asked. "Get down yourselves." He motioned to Ash and Brock, and the boys walked off.

"Any idea where Pikachu might be now?" Ash asked Kisshu.

Kisshu closed his eyes for a minute, then said, "Other side of the island. It's not too far, so let's just walk. I don't want to use up too much energy teleporting."

"Okay," Ash said. He and Brock followed Kisshu as he walked to the far side of the island.

**I know, short chapter. I hope the next one will be longer.**


	2. Finding Pikachu

**Rivals Chapter 2:**

**Finding Pikachu**

Kisshu, Ash and Brock reached the edge of a cliff, and looked down. There was no sign of Pikachu, so they kept walking.

An hour later, there was still no sign of Pikachu. "Are you sure this is the right way?" Ash asked Kisshu.

"This is where I sensed Pikachu," Kisshu replied. "I guess we have to keep going."

Ash sighed. Suddenly Kisshu's ears twitched, and he said, "Someone's calling for help, and it's not Team Rocket."

"Maybe it's Pikachu!" Ash said. "Which way?"

"Straight, then around the corner," Kisshu said. Ash ran off.

Kisshu turned to Brock and said, "Are those two close?"

"Sometimes I think that they're bonded, that's how close they are," Brock said. He and Kisshu kept walking as Brock continued, "Ash gets really depressed if they're apart for too long. One time, Pikachu got really badly injured, and while Nurse Joy was caring for it, I had to keep Ash from having a nervous breakdown. He's hotheaded, and reckless, but he cares very deeply about Pikachu, and from what I've seen, the feeling's mutual."

"It must be nice to have a friend like that," Kisshu said.

"You don't?" Brock asked.

"No, not really," Kisshu said. "I guess the closest friend I ever had was Emiko."

"What about Pai and Taruto?" Brock asked.

"They're actually my adoptive brothers," Kisshu said. "Their parents adopted me after my parents died, and we grew up together. We're close, but we fight a LOT."

"Pikachu and Ash almost never fight," Brock said. "Have you ever fought with Emiko?"

"No," Kisshu said. "I guess I should have realized that meant something, but at least we're together now."

"You are?" Brock asked.

"Yeah, didn't Ash tell you?" Kisshu asked.

"No, but now that you mention it, he did seem a bit depressed after you left when you brought him back," Brock said.

"He told Emiko that he had a crush on her," Kisshu said. "That's probably why. Emiko informed all of us that she had been in love with me almost since she met me, and I guess Ash wasn't too happy about that. He said they could still be friends, though."

"He actually _had _to say that, even if it wasn't exactly the complete truth," Brock said. "Pikachu is way too attached to Emiko for Ash to say that he wasn't happy with her."

"Would Pikachu leave Ash if he did say something like that?" Kisshu asked.

"I'm not sure," Brock admitted. "I don't think so, but you never know. What I'm worried about is that Emiko and Pikachu are so close."

"Why is that?" Kisshu asked.

"It's the same as if Ash and Emiko were that close," Brock said. "Emiko told us that dimensions shouldn't be mixed. If Ash did say something about Emiko that caused Pikachu to leave, Team Rocket would have him in an instant. And then everything would go straight down the gutter."

"Not necessarily," Kisshu said. "While it's true that dimensions shouldn't be mixed, that really only applies to people from different dimensions. Smaller objects and living creatures shouldn't be a problem. Remember when Ash and Taruto had that eating contest, and Emiko gave him that thing she stole from Pai?"

"Yeah," Brock said.

"It hasn't affected either dimension, has it?" Kisshu asked.

"I guess you're right, but Pikachu's not a piece of technology," Brock said.

"True, but my dimension would be able to handle having Pikachu live there," Kisshu said. "My dimension is a bit different."

"Well, I just hope we don't have to resort to having Pikachu live there," Brock said. "Ash would be devastated if he left."

"Not to mention we don't know what Pikachu eats," Kisshu added.

"I would help with that, but let's hope this conversation never comes to reality," Brock said.

"Yeah," Kisshu said.

Suddenly they heard someone cry out, and ran to the sound. They rounded a corner, and saw that Ash was looking up at something, looking worried. They looked up, and saw Pikachu and some boy clinging to a small branch high overhead.

Kisshu flew up, grabbed both Pikachu and the boy, and floated back down. He set both of them down, and said, "How did you two get up there?"

"Sparky and I fell," the boy said. "Thanks for saving us. I'm Ritchie, by the way."

"I'm Kisshu," Kisshu said. "Who's Sparky?"

Ritchie pointed to the Pikachu on his shoulder. "I thought that was Ash's Pikachu," Kisshu said.

"No, we haven't found Pikachu yet," Ash said. "Ritchie and Sparky are friends, though.

"Ash, Pikachu's missing?" Ritchie asked.

"Team Rocket again," Ash said. "Luckily, Kisshu was able to find out that Pikachu was on this island somewhere, so we have a general idea of where to look."

"Do you want my help?" Ritchie asked- just as they heard Pikachu cry out. Kisshu teleported to the sound, and saw Team Rocket stuffing Pikachu into a cage. "OI!" he shouted. Team Rocket looked up, and then tried to run for it. Kisshu teleported in front of them and took out his Dragon Swords.

"You jerks are going down," Kisshu snarled. He lunged at James, who was holding the cage, and slashed his arm. Pikachu's cage fell, and Kisshu grabbed it one-handed, making one of his Dragon Swords disappear. Then he stabbed Jessie in the leg, and when Meowth tried to attack with his claws, Kisshu ducked, so Meowth scratched up Jessie's face.

Noticing that James was trying to sneak up behind him, Kisshu spun and kicked James's arm- the wounded one. He proceeded to knock Meowth out with the hilt of one of his swords, and then he cut the bars of the cage and took Pikachu out.

"_Thanks," _Pikachu said.

"You're welcome," Kisshu said.

"_You can understand me too?" _Pikachu asked. _"And where's Emiko?"_

"Emiko's still too weak to teleport, and she gave me her power to understand Pokémon for a while," Kisshu explained.

"_Is Emiko going to be okay?" _Pikachu asked.

"Most likely, it's just taking a while for her to regain her strength," Kisshu said.

Pikachu sighed. Ash came over and said, "Pikachu, are you okay?"

Pikachu nodded, but didn't seem very happy. Kisshu noticed and said, "Pikachu, is something wrong?"

"_Ash is mad at Emiko," _Pikachu said. _"I don't like that. It's not her fault she's in love with you rather than him."_

"Oh…" Kisshu said.

Pikachu continued, _"Ash only talks to me about this, and it's irritating. I love Emiko, she's so nice. Why can't he see that you're the only one she'll ever love? He should know it wouldn't work anyways, not between different dimensions."_

Kisshu sighed and turned to Brock. "You were wrong, we've got a problem," he said.

"Is it what we were talking about?" Brock asked.

"Yup," Kisshu said.

"What do we do?" Brock asked.

"Well…."

**Cliffie!**


	3. Pikachu's Decision

**Rivals Chapter 3:**

**Pikachu's Decision**

Before Kisshu could continue, Ash said, "What are you guys talking about?"

"Pikachu's irritated," Kisshu said.

"About what?" Ash asked.

"_I'm tired of you bad-mouthing Emiko, just because she fell in love with someone else," _Pikachu said.

Ash looked at Kisshu, who said, "Pikachu said he's sick of you bad-mouthing Emiko just because she fell in love with me rather than you. Were you really bad-mouthing her?"

Ash didn't respond. Instead, he launched himself at Kisshu.

_**Back with Emiko: **_Emiko was sitting on the sofa, reading. She was strong enough to fly now, but healing and teleporting were still out of her reach. It was frustrating for her. Suddenly she heard both Pikachu and Kisshu cry out. She closed her eyes and saw Kisshu fighting with Ash. Her eyes shot open and she ran to Pai. He looked up at her, and she said, "Pai, you have to teleport me to the other dimension! Ash and Kisshu are fighting, and both Kisshu and Pikachu are calling for help!"

Pai sighed, but took Emiko's hand and teleported.

_**Back in the other dimension: **_Pikachu watched in horror as Ash and Kisshu started fighting. Brock tried to say something, but he was ignored. Then the air behind Pikachu began to ripple, and everyone except Ash and Kisshu turned. Pai appeared with Emiko, and set her down. "What on EARTH are you two doing?!" Emiko shouted.

Both boys looked up, startled. "Emiko, you shouldn't have teleported!" Kisshu said.

"I didn't, Pai got me here," Emiko said. "Do you mind explaining to me why you're fighting?"

"Ash attacked me, so I was defending myself," Kisshu said.

Emiko looked at Brock, who nodded. "Why would you do that?" Emiko asked Ash.

Ash didn't respond, looking down. Kisshu suddenly threw Ash off of him, and went to Emiko. He put a finger on her forehead, and she started to glow green. "I'll let Pikachu explain this," Kisshu said when he was done.

"_Ash was mad at you for choosing Kisshu over him, and when Kisshu asked him if he had been bad-mouthing you, he attacked Kisshu," _Pikachu said. Then he jumped on Emiko's shoulder, and said, _"I'm tired of hearing bad things about you. I want to live with you now."_

Emiko was shocked. Then she said, "Are you sure?"

Pikachu nodded.

"HEY! What did Pikachu say?" Ash asked.

"Pikachu said he wants to live with me now," Emiko said. "He says he's tired of hearing bad things about me." Then she added softly, "I thought you were my friend, Ash."

Without waiting for a response, she turned to Kisshu and said, "Kisshu, I think we're done here. Let's go home."

Kisshu took her hand and teleported her and Pikachu back to his dimension. They landed in Emiko's room, and Emiko sat down on the bed. Kisshu sat next to her, putting an arm around her, and said, "I'm sorry, Emiko."

"It's not your fault," Emiko said sadly. "I shouldn't trust humans."

Kisshu sighed and changed the subject. "Are you feeling any better today?"

"I can fly, but I still can't heal or teleport," Emiko said. "It's annoying."

"Well, flying's an improvement over yesterday," Kisshu said. "Hey, wanna get something to eat?"

"Sure, but what about Pikachu? I'm not sure what he eats," Emiko said.

"Rats, I knew I forgot something!" Kisshu said. "Brock said he'd help out if Pikachu decided to do this."

"I guess you'd better go find Brock, then," Emiko said.

Kisshu nodded, but before he could go anywhere, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Emiko called.

Pai came in and said, "This human said something about Pokémon food and insisted on coming back with me." He moved aside to reveal Brock, who waved.

"Hi," Emiko said.

"Hey," Brock said. "I came to give you the food Pikachu needs, and instructions for how to make it."

"Thanks," Emiko said. Her voice was slightly sad.

Brock noticed, and said, "You're sad, aren't you?"

"I guess I shouldn't trust humans after all," Emiko said. "I'll just end up getting hurt."

Brock sighed. "I'm not going to try to excuse Ash's actions; I know what he did was wrong. He's a hothead, and I think he let his jealousy get the best of him. I'm sorry you got hurt, and I'm going to have a talk with him, so he at least won't hurt others this way. It was nice meeting you, and I do hope that we'll meet again someday, Emiko. Until then, take care of yourself, and Pikachu."

"I will, thanks Brock," Emiko said.

Brock nodded, and Pai took his shoulder, then teleported.

Emiko waited till they were gone, and then started crying. Kisshu and Pikachu both hugged her, until she fell asleep, worn out from her emotions. Kisshu laid her down on the bed, then laid down next to her. Pikachu curled up on Emiko's other side, and they all fell asleep.

**Shocker, right? At least the end was kind of cute.**


	4. Breakfast

**Rivals Chapter 4:**

**Breakfast**

The next morning, Emiko was the first one up. Pikachu woke up when she sat up, but Kisshu didn't. Emiko poked him, and he muttered, "Five more minutes…."

Emiko giggled. Pikachu got on her shoulder to look at Kisshu, and said, _"He's not a morning person, is he?"_

"Nope, he likes to sleep in," Emiko said. "I think it's kind of cute. Let's let him sleep. It's still pretty early anyways."

"_What time is it?" _Pikachu asked.

Emiko looked at the clock and said, "7 AM."

"_You really are an early riser," _Pikachu said.

"I didn't used to be," Emiko said. "But when I started working for Kisshu when we were trying to take over Earth, I ended up doing all the cooking, and Kisshu, Pai and Taruto liked breakfast. So I started getting up early to cook without them in the way, and it became a habit."

Suddenly Kisshu said grumpily, "Alright, I'm up. You can stop talking now."

Emiko started laughing, and so did Pikachu. Kisshu blinked and said, "What's so funny?"

"You!" Emiko said. "You're so cute in the morning."

"Thanks," Kisshu said, smirking. Then he jumped on her and started tickling her. Emiko laughed, and started tickling him back. Kisshu was more ticklish than she was, so it was fun. Finally Kisshu said, "I give! You win."

Emiko laughed. "YES! You'll never beat me in a tickle war, Kisshu."

Kisshu pouted, but said, "Let's go find breakfast."

"Okay," Emiko said. "Come on, Pikachu."

Pikachu jumped on her shoulder, and they walked down to the kitchen. Pai was waiting outside the door, looking glum. "Something wrong, Pai?" Kisshu asked.

"I'm hungry, and I'm STILL banned from the kitchen," Pai said.

"There's a very good reason for that, and we were just about to come make breakfast," Emiko said. "Go back to your lab, I'll drag you out when it's ready."

Pai grumbled a bit, but obeyed.

"_Does everyone listen to you like that, Emiko?" _asked.

"Most of the time," Emiko said.

"What'd Pikachu say?" Kisshu asked.

"He asked if everyone listened to me like that," Emiko said.

Kisshu looked at Pikachu and said, "Emiko's the one who keeps us together. We couldn't live without her. Taruto once said she's like our mom in some ways. She's the one who stops all the fights, and she taught us to cook. Emiko's amazing."

Emiko blushed and said, "Thanks, but I'm not that great. And when did Taruto say I'm like everyone's mom?"

"While you were unconscious after using the hypnosis spell," Kisshu said. "We were talking about how if you chose to go to the other dimension permanently, everything would fall apart."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that," Emiko said. "I would never leave you guys permanently. You're my family. And Kisshu, you're my boyfriend. I love you, in more ways than one. As my boyfriend, and as a member of this crazy family."

Kisshu grinned, and kissed her. Emiko kissed back for a while, then said, "I guess we should go make breakfast. What should we make?"

"Waffles," Kisshu said.

"Okay," Emiko said. "Should we make scrambled eggs too?"

"Good idea," Kisshu said. "We should find out where Brock left Pikachu's food, too."

Emiko nodded, and they went into the kitchen. They found the food in a bag with a booklet next to it. Emiko picked up the booklet and read through it, then picked up a container and a dish that Brock had given them, and opened the container. She looked at the contents and then poured some into the dish. "Pikachu, do you want to eat with everyone else, or right now?" Emiko asked.

"_I can wait," _Pikachu said.

"Okay," Emiko said. She turned to Kisshu and said, "Do you want to make the waffles? I noticed you haven't been cooking much lately."

"Sure, remind me how to make the batter," Kisshu said.

Emiko went to a shelf, took down a cookbook, and opened it to a certain page. Then she said, "Here's the instructions. I'll go get the waffle iron."

Kisshu took out a mixing bowl, measuring cups, and some eggs, and started making the batter. Emiko plugged in the waffle iron, and let it heat up. Then she took out a large skillet, and put it on the stove. As soon as Kisshu poured the first round of batter on the waffle iron, Emiko turned the stove on, and put some butter in the skillet. As soon as it was melted, she started cracking eggs into the pan.

Kisshu was on to the second batch of waffles, and Emiko was adding salt and pepper to the eggs when Lettuce came in. She was followed by Pudding and Taruto, and then Mint and Zakuro. Ichigo was the last one in. Pai would be gotten later, when the food was actually ready. Everyone was staring at Emiko and Kisshu hopefully, and Emiko finally said, "Alright, you all should go to the table. You're not going to make the food cook faster by staring at it."

"Fine…" the others said, and filed out.

"Thanks, Emiko, they were driving me nuts," Kisshu said.

"_The way they all stared was a bit creepy, do they always do that?" _Pikachu asked.

"Believe me, that's nothing compared to what it's like when I make brownies," Emiko said. "When I make brownies, even Kisshu starts staring like that. I'm used to it."

"We're all pretty crazy here," Kisshu said. "Emiko and Pai are the most sensible, and since Pai has to get dragged out of his lab for meals, I'd say Emiko's the most sensible person here."

"_You're all crazy?" _Pikachu asked.

"There's good crazy and bad crazy," Emiko replied. "We're good crazy. It just means we have a lot of fun in an unconventional way. Of course, Mint and Ichigo's fights are a different story. If they start, join the others outside, and I'll deal with it. I'm the only one who's ever been able to stop them."

"Waffles are ready," Kisshu said. "Let's go eat!"

Emiko put the scrambled eggs in a bowl and the waffles on a plate, and went to the table. Kisshu brought out the maple syrup and butter. Emiko went back to the kitchen, took Pikachu's food, and carried it and Pikachu back to the table. She set them both down on the table, and sat down next to Kisshu. "Oops, we forgot Pai," she said. "Taruto, go get Pai out of his lab, we'll save your food for you."

Taruto sighed and teleported out. He returned a minute later with Pai, who said, "Thanks for making breakfast, since _I'm _not allowed in the kitchen."

"Give it a rest, Pai," Kisshu said. "You know perfectly well why Emiko banned you, and it's really for the good of everyone. You don't like the sound of the smoke alarm any more than we do."

"I only set the kitchen on fire _once,_" Pai said defensively.

"And that was more than enough," Emiko said firmly. "If you're going to complain all through breakfast, I'll give Taruto your share of the cake I'm making today."

Pai grumbled, but fell silent.

"You're making a cake today?" Ichigo asked excitedly.

"Yeah," Emiko said. She turned to Pikachu and said, "Is there any kind of cake you can eat?"

"_I like yellow cake, but I can't eat chocolate," _Pikachu said.

"Yellow cake with buttercream?" Emiko asked.

"_Yeah!" _Pikachu said excitedly.

Emiko smiled and said, "Okay, I'm going to make a yellow cake with buttercream frosting. Who wants to pick the color?"

"I do," Pai said unexpectedly.

"What color?" Emiko asked.

"Green," Pai said.

"You've got Lettuce on the brain, don't you?" Emiko said.

Pai turned slightly pink, and Kisshu smirked. "Pai and Lettuce, sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" He sang loudly.

Pai looked like he was about to explode. Kisshu noticed, and continued singing. Halfway through the word 'marriage', Pai jumped up, teleported, and grabbed Kisshu by the front of his shirt. "Jeez, calm down," Kisshu said. "I was only teasing."

"Well, don't!" Pai growled. "It's irritating."

"Pai, just because you're upset doesn't make it okay to grab people," Emiko said. "You're one step away from losing your cake privileges."

Pai sighed and dropped Kisshu. Then he went back to his seat and continued eating. When he was done, he left his plate and teleported back to his lab without a word.

Emiko sighed and said, "Kisshu, I think you should apologize. You know how he is; someone insults Lettuce and he goes berserk."

"I didn't think I was being insulting," Kisshu said.

"He obviously thought so, though," Emiko said. "Give him some time to cool off, and then go apologize for teasing. You know he doesn't like it, and while the rest of us think it's funny, he doesn't."

Kisshu sighed. "Fine…." he said.

Emiko smiled at him, then turned to the others, and said, "Ichigo, Pudding, you are on dishes today, since Kisshu and I cooked. And Pudding, no acrobatics this time, are we clear? I don't want any more broken plates."

Pudding pouted, but nodded. "Good," Emiko said. "Now, if you're done, please bring your dishes into the kitchen. I'll get Pai's."

The others nodded, so Emiko got up and took her plate and Pai's to the kitchen, and set them down after rinsing them. The others filed in and did the same. Pikachu brought his bowl in, and handed it to Emiko, who put it on the counter. "Okay Ichigo, Pudding, we'll leave you to it," Emiko said. She shooed everyone else out of the kitchen, and looked around. "Did Kisshu go to apologize?" she asked Lettuce.

"I think so," Lettuce replied. Then the girls heard a loud CRASH from the direction of Pai's lab. Emiko and Lettuce looked at each other warily, and followed by Pikachu, ran to the lab.

Once they got there, they saw Kisshu slumped against the wall, and Pai with his fan out. "Okay, what happened?" Emiko said. "I thought Kisshu came here to apologize."

"I DID, but he blasted me before I could say anything," Kisshu said indignantly.

"Pai, why did you do that?" Emiko asked. "I thought you of all people would know better than to jump to conclusions."

"I just thought he was coming to gloat about you taking me to task," Pai said.

"I told Kisshu to apologize," Emiko said. "Since you didn't give him a chance, I assume you know what the consequences are?"

Pai sighed. "Apologize and no cake?"

"Yes," Emiko said. "And I'd like you to apologize now, because I don't want to find out later that you 'forgot'."

Pai sighed again, but said, "Kisshu, I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions and blasted you."

"Thanks for apologizing, Pai," Kisshu said.

"Kisshu, can you get up?" Emiko asked.

Kisshu pushed himself up, but winced when he put weight on his right arm.

Emiko went to his side and took a look at Kisshu's arm, then sighed. "You've got a pretty bad burn there," she said. "Let's see what I can do. I'm feeling stronger today."

She put a hand on Kisshu's arm, and her hand began to glow. The burn started to heal, and soon was gone. "How's it feel now, Kisshu?" Emiko asked.

"Fine, thanks Emiko," Kisshu said. "It's good that you can heal now. Do you think you can teleport yet?"

"I'm not sure," Emiko said. "Pai, can you check?"

Pai nodded, and put a hand on her chest. Finally he said, "Yeah, it looks like you're finally back to full strength."

"Great!" Emiko said. She turned to Kisshu and said, "What should we do now?"

**A bit of a cliffie….**


	5. Fun

**Rivals Chapter 5:**

**Fun**

"Well, I'm going to go make the cake," Emiko said. "I guess I should wait a bit, Ichigo and Pudding are doing the dishes."

Just then, however, Ichigo came up to them and said, "We finished the dishes."

"Great," Emiko said. "I'm going to go make the cake. Pikachu, what do you want to do?"

"_I'm not sure," _Pikachu said.

"I have an idea," Ichigo said. "What if Pudding taught Pikachu gymnastics?"

"What do you think, Pikachu?" Emiko asked.

"_I'd like that, but only if she doesn't squeeze me to death again," _Pikachu said.

Emiko turned to Ichigo and said, "Pikachu says he'd like that, but that he doesn't want Pudding to squeeze him again. Would you mind supervising them?"

"I can do that," Ichigo said.

"Does that sound okay?" Emiko asked Pikachu. Pikachu nodded, so Emiko said, "You can go with Ichigo, then. I'm going to go make that cake."

"_Yay!" _Pikachu said.

"Let's go find Pudding, Pikachu," Ichigo said. Pikachu followed her off, and Emiko headed to the kitchen.

She mixed flour, sugar, milk, eggs, and vanilla together in a large bowl, then greased a large pan, and poured the batter in. She put it in the oven, and set the timer for 45 minutes, then took out a book.

Half an hour later, the kitchen smelled heavenly, and Emiko had an audience- until she said, "Okay, that's enough staring at me. Everyone out!"

The others grumbled, but obeyed.

Finally the timer dinged, and Emiko checked the cake. It was done, so she took it out to cool. It would be a while before she could ice it, so she decided to go see how Pikachu was doing.

She went to Pudding's room, where she found Pudding doing a one-handed handstand, and Pikachu trying to copy her. Pikachu had made it to two hands- er, paws, and was trying to stand on only one paw.

"Try shifting your weight onto that side of your body," Pudding told Pikachu. Pikachu tried, and it worked this time! Pikachu was standing on only one paw. He stayed like that for about a minute, then flipped back onto his back paws.

Emiko started clapping, and Pikachu and Pudding looked up. "Hi Emiko-onee-san!" Pudding said. "Pikachu's really great at this. I think he might get almost as good as me!"

Pikachu smiled, then asked, _"What does 'Oneesan' mean?"_

"It means big sister," Emiko said. "In our culture, younger children often refer to older kids and teenagers that they're close with as 'big sister' or 'big brother', even though they're not related by blood."

"_Cool," _Pikachu said.

"Pikachu, do you want to learn to walk on your front paws?" Pudding asked.

Pikachu nodded happily. "I'll leave you to it, I have to go frost the cake, and make sure Taruto's not eating any," Emiko said.

"Okay," Pudding said. Pikachu waved, and Emiko waved back before going to the kitchen.

She saw a flash of red in there, so she entered silently. Sure enough, Taruto was looking at the cake, about to reach out.

Emiko said, "Taruto, you know you're not allowed to do that, right?"

Taruto jumped so high his head hit the ceiling. Rubbing his head, he floated back down and said, "Why did you have to scare me like that?"

"Because you were about to steal some cake before I was done with it," Emiko said. "Wait until I'm done frosting it, and stay out of the kitchen."

"Are you frosting it soon?" Taruto asked.

"Right now, so out," Emiko said.

Taruto sighed, but obeyed. Emiko mixed up some buttercream frosting, put green food coloring in, and mixed it more. Then she took a butter knife and started spreading the icing onto the cake. Suddenly she got an idea, and made some plain white frosting. Then she took out a pastry bag, and used it to write, 'Welcome Pikachu' on the cake in fancy letters.

Next, she called everyone into the dining room, and brought the cake out. When she placed it on the table, everyone clapped.

"Wow, it's pretty," Kisshu said. "Nice writing, too."

Pudding looked closely at the cake, then said, "Hey, it says 'Welcome Pikachu'!"

"Yes it does," Emiko said.

"_That's really nice, thanks Emiko," _Pikachu said.

"You're welcome," Emiko said with a smile. She cut a piece for everyone except Pai, who was confined to his lab for a while.

"Hey, where's Pai?" Taruto asked.

"He blasted Kisshu with his fan when he came to apologize for this morning's teasing, so he's lost his cake for today," Emiko said.

Ichigo looked worried. "Kisshu, are you okay?" she asked.

"Emiko healed me, so I'm fine," Kisshu said.

"Emiko, are you back to full strength?" Ichigo asked.

"Yep," Emiko said.

"That's great," Ichigo said.

"I agree, now I can teleport," Emiko said.

Soon after, everyone was finished with their cake, and went off to do their own things.

**I'm obviously bad at chapter endings. **


	6. Sadness

**Rivals Chapter 6:**

**Sadness**

About a month after Emiko made a welcome cake for Pikachu, she noticed that Pikachu was looking sad sometimes. One day, she saw Pikachu staring out the window, and came over. "Pikachu, what's wrong? You look sad," she said.

"_Believe it or not, I miss Ash," _Pikachu said._ "I wonder how he's doing."_

"_Should I check?" _Emiko asked in the same language. Pikachu nodded, so she closed her eyes and concentrated on Ash. To her surprise, he was sitting on a bench in a park, looking very down. Then he buried his face in his hands. Emiko stopped watching, and said, "Doesn't look like he's very happy. I think he's crying."

Pikachu looked horrified. Emiko noticed and said, "Do you want to go see if he's changed his mind about us?"

Pikachu nodded. "Let's go talk to Kisshu," Emiko said.

Pikachu jumped onto her shoulder, and Emiko teleported to Kisshu. He looked up and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Pikachu misses Ash," Emiko said. "I checked on him for Pikachu, and it looked like he was crying. I'm thinking I should go back."

"What if he hasn't changed?" Kisshu said.

"I had an idea," Emiko said. "I'll cast an illusion over myself, turn Pikachu invisible, and try to find out what's up. If it doesn't work, I'll come back. Can you let the others know?"

Kisshu sighed, but said, "Okay, but if he hurts you again, tell me, and I'll go talk with him."

"Fine," Emiko said.

She got her boots on, and said, "Pikachu, I'm going to turn you invisible, so you have to stay on my shoulder, and not make a sound. If we think it's okay, I'll reveal who I am. If not, we'll come back, okay?"

Pikachu nodded. Emiko cast an illusion over herself. Now she had long black hair, normal human ears, and was wearing a blue shirt with black jeans. Pikachu got on her shoulder, and she said, "Fukashi." Then she focused on the park near where she had seen Ash. She arrived behind a tree, and saw Ash on the bench. His friends weren't with him, and he was crying. "Remember, stay quiet," she whispered to Pikachu, and walked over to the bench.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked Ash.

Ash looked up, startled, and quickly wiped his tears away. "Yeah…" he said.

"You don't look okay, is something wrong?" Emiko asked.

"Who are you?" Ash asked.

"My name is Yuki," Emiko said. "I like helping people with their problems. What's bugging you?"

Ash sighed and said, "I lost my best friend. He was mad at me for getting angry with the girl I love, and he went to live with someone else. And soon after that, the friends I was traveling with got sick of my problems, and left as well. The only one who stayed was my friend Brock. He went shopping though, and I kind of got sad sitting here."

"Do you regret what you did?" Emiko asked. "If your best friend came back, what would you tell him?"

"I regret what I did more than anyone can imagine," Ash said sadly. "I shouldn't have said the things I said, and if my best friend came back, I'd tell him that I never meant to hurt him or the girl I love. I really miss him- and her. I know I hurt her by attacking her boyfriend, and I wish I could turn back time and do this over again."

Emiko was really touched, and she made her decision. She let the illusion spell drop, and said to Ash, who was looking at the ground glumly, "Look at me."

Ash looked up, and his jaw dropped. "Emiko…" he whispered. "Is it really you? Or is this just another dream?"

"It's me," Emiko said. She tapped her shoulder, and Pikachu appeared. "We both decided to see if you had changed," Emiko continued. "I figured disguising myself and turning Pikachu invisible was the best way to find out what you were thinking."

Ash suddenly threw himself at her, hugging her and burying his face in her shoulder. Emiko hesitated, then hugged him back, feeling his shoulders shaking. "I'm so sorry!" Ash cried.

"After hearing how you really feel, I forgive you," Emiko said softly. "And I'm sure Pikachu will as well. You're getting my shirt wet."

Ash quickly pulled away. "Uh… sorry about that," he said.

Emiko smiled and said, "It's fine." Then she turned to Pikachu and said, "How do you feel about this?"

"_I'll forgive you too, Ash," _Pikachu said, jumping into his lap. Ash picked up Pikachu and hugged him tightly.

"Thanks, guys," Ash said. "I think this is the happiest I've been in weeks."

Emiko smiled and said, "You're going to be even happier when Pikachu shows you what he learned. Pikachu, do the routine."

Pikachu nodded, then jumped to the ground, and stood on one paw. Then he stood on both, and started walking around that way. Next he flipped back onto his back feet, and jumped into the air. He did two backflips before landing and bowing. "Whoa…" Ash said. "When did you learn all that? It's amazing!"

"Pikachu wasn't sure what he wanted to do, so Ichigo suggested that Pudding teach Pikachu gymnastics," Emiko explained. "Pikachu's been working really hard."

"That's great, buddy," Ash said. Pikachu smiled and jumped onto his shoulder.

Suddenly they heard a voice shout, "Emiko!?" They turned and saw Brock running over.

"Hi Brock!" Emiko said.

"You don't have any idea how happy I am to see you," Brock said. "Ash has been walking around with an aura of gloom around himself. Nothing I could do or say would cheer him up, and he's even stopped battling. But what made you come back?"

"Pikachu missed Ash, and when I checked on him, he was crying," Emiko said. "I talked to Kisshu, and he said it was fine to come back. So I cast an illusion over myself to appear human, turned Pikachu invisible, and told Ash my name was Yuki, and I like helping people with their problems. It worked, and he told me everything. That's the reason I revealed myself, because I could see that he had changed."

"Well, it's good to have you back," Brock said. "How long are you staying?"

"Not long, I should get back soon," Emiko said. "I really came to see if Ash had changed enough to bring Pikachu back. To be honest, I was starting to miss you guys too."

"Well, thanks for coming back," Brock said.

"You're welcome," Emiko said, smiling. "I should get back though, I told Kisshu I'd be back soon. I don't want him to come looking for me."

"Why?" Ash asked.

"Because he's worried you would hurt me again," Emiko said. "He's the overprotective type."

"I swear, I'll never hurt you again," Ash said. "I realized it's like hurting myself."

"Thanks," Emiko said softly. She stood up, and Ash did the same. The two of them hugged, and when they broke apart, Emiko said, "I have to go. Don't forget to show Brock Pikachu's new routine."

Ash laughed and said, "I won't."

"And call if you need me," Emiko said. Pikachu nodded, so Emiko teleported back to Kisshu's dimension.

She found Kisshu pacing around the living room, and said, "I'm back!"

"How did it go?" Kisshu asked.

"I left Pikachu with Ash. He really did change, and Brock said the same," Emiko said. "I'm glad we worked it out."

"I'm glad he didn't hurt you again," Kisshu said. "It's good you worked it out. Pudding's kind of sad about Pikachu leaving, but she'll get over it."

"Oh, well," Emiko said. "So what should we do now?"

"Make out?" Kisshu asked.

Emiko chuckled and kissed him.

**I think this chapter was really cute, and now this story's over. I'll try to think of something new after I finish Melody of the Flute.**


End file.
